The first revision following the Coverdale Bible was Matthew's Bible. Strangely enough, no one named "Matthew" ever worked on this version. Thomas Matthew was the "pen name" used by John Rogers, the editor of the translation.

Rogers had been a close friend of William Tyndale. Just prior to his death, Tyndale gave to Rogers the manuscripts of all his English translations — including those that had not yet been published. Rogers used Tyndale's work — about two-thirds of the entire Bible — for Matthew's Bible. The text from Coverdale's Bible was used for the portions of Scripture that had not been translated by Tyndale. So Matthew's Bible was basically a compilation of the work of two men — Tyndale and Coverdale.

In 1537 Matthew's Bible was given the approval and license of King Henry VIII. However, times and monarchs change; and just 18 years later, Rogers would be burned at the stake — the first of 300 Protestants that eventually would be martyred under the reign of Mary Tudor.

Use the Menu on the left to read the full story, or to view actual pages from a Matthew Bible.